Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $321,000 Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,417 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Hess were worth $321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $143.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.12. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on HES. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

About Hess

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.